to a duel in the Emirates yesterday.
[Henry, Pedro, Victor Valdes, Alves, Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Ibrahimovic].
Arsenal scored two late goals to salvage an important draw, that keeps
their Champions League ambition alive.
Meanwhile, Barca enjoyed the lion share of possession and taught the
Gunners some bitter lessons in the process. Final result Arsenal 2-2
Barcelona.
Henry: "It was a strange game, we could have won easily and yet we drew.
A draw is never a bad result in Europe. I played here for eight years
and that is hard to forget, I have mixed feelings."
Pedro: "They put a lot of pressure on us and it was not easy and they
scored two goals."
The youngster praised Walcott's speed and agility and believes the
21-year-old was the catalyst that changed Arsenal's night: "Walcott is
a very fast player, and he managed to score a goal. 2-2 is a good
result but given the circumstances you come away with a bad taste in
your mouth because we created chances and expected to win."
Victor Valdes: "We had a good first half, we felt comfortable and
created goal-scoring chances. But they scored twice in the second
half, and things changed radically. We are leaving with a bad taste in
our mouths because we played well and deserved a better result.
Under other circumstances, they could have scored the opening goal. We
have to take the best out of this and remember we still get to play
the second leg at home."
Alves: "We deserved to win. We want to carry on in this competition.
We played a great game against a great team. We had a great first
half, but in the second we couldn't generate the same chances. We have
got a bittersweet feeling about the result.
They came out strong in the second half, they created a lot of
pressure, but we were up to them.
The penalty was too much, but the result is still a good one. Although
they were at home, we played well and we deserved more than what we
got."
Sergio Busquets: "That was probably our best game of the season, this
team has plenty of quality."
Xavi: "We played well, we dominated. If only we could play like that
all the time," he enthused. "Their first goal came from our own
mistake. Watching the game we should have sentenced the match. It was
a great game and we can go away knowing we were vastly superior to
Arsenal," the midfielder declared.
Ibrahimovic: "They scored two late goals but it was a great result all the same.
We did all we could to win, but they scored. That's the Champions
League, you have to play from the beginning to the end, until the
referee blows for time. We have to take the second leg positively.
I am happy with the goals, but happier for the team. 2-2 is a good
result and we still have the second leg at home."
